Tag: OrangeDoor

Portland Actors Ensemble: Coriolanus

I forgot my camera, which was unfortunate as there were times in this play when my fingers itched to be grabbing photos.  These two were taken with my phone. (And one of them doesn’t want to load in its correct orientation)IMG_20160709_184133

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We made this not-often-produced play a priority and I’m glad we did because the location of Pettygrove Park was a good one.  The sculpture “The Dreamer” and the hills where the audience sat added a lot to the setting. Fun Wikipedia fact:  the mounded hills inspired this park’s nickname: Mae West Park.  Further opinion:  I’m not sure anyone actually uses this nickname anymore. Or if they ever did.

The sculpture was used as a device to manufacture sound.  One of the actors “played” it with rubber mallets during battle scenes which added  a lot to the action.

The play was tight and held my attention, despite the intermittent rain. Arthur Delaney was a solid Coriolanus.  We’ve seen him before in other productions.  I also enjoyed Allison Rangel and Heidi Kay Hunter as the two tribunes.

Aside from the rain, this performance provided us unique theater-in-the-park experience.  During the climax, a passerby wandered into the action, first touching Ken Yoshikawa on the back during an intense interchange with Arthur Delaney.  Ken turned to see what was happening and then turned back and kept going.

The man retreated to sit with the audience on the hills talking loudly to himself, with a woman–possibly the stage manger–trying to coax him away.  Just as the cast erupted into the final fight scene the man ran into the fray, grabbing Arthur Delaney by the back of the neck.

“Back the fuck off, asshole!” Allison Rangel’s voice rang out as she broke character advancing on the man as everyone stopped.  He retreated immediately.  “That’s right, keep going,” she yelled as he disappeared.  Everyone, actors and audience, stared, following his retreat.  “I apologize,” she continued, addressing the audience, “That’s my boyfriend,” she said, meaning Delaney.

In the manner of all unexpected situations things were quiet for a beat before one of the actors asked, “Shall we start the fight scene over?” There was a mutter of agreement, the cast reset and we watched Coriolanus be killed for his betrayal.

Rangel’s quick action in a scary situation and the actors carrying on while most of them must have been completely freaked out brought home what a solid production this was.  We won’t soon forget Coriolanus.

Sure does look like a bunch of unfinished projects…

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I got a lot done this weekend–nearly finished all my to-do list–and still I see a lot of projects. The netting needs to be put up for the bush beans.  The jars need to be transferred to Leo’s garden.  The bag of dryer lint needs to be transferred to the yard debris bin.  The cardboard needs to be stripped of its tape and spread around the yard(s).  The straw needs to be spread over the cardboard. The two pots of zucchini need to be planted.  The raspberries need to be picked.  The apple tree bed needs to be turned over.  Those boards need to go elsewhere. And it probably wouldn’t hurt to sweep the porch.

Dead Relatives Tour 2016

For some reason it’s taken me a long time to notice this carved piece of art. It’s kind of 60’s cool, in keeping with the decor.  That’s a far-out Jesus.IMG_5445

Uncle Tom is still resting in peace.  I missed taking a picture of the Great-great grandparents grave.IMG_5446

At the next cemetery, I apparently had my camera set to “poster” again.  This is Aunt Pat getting started.IMG_5448

And the finished product.IMG_5449

Then we ate Chinese food.

Hardy kiwi flowering!

I can’t remember when I planted the hardy kiwi, but perhaps fall of 2009 or spring of 2010.  As I mentioned in this post, I was hoping for some kiwi, but mostly wanted green growth on the pergola.  I’ve gotten what I mostly wanted, for sure.  The kiwi looks great on the pergola and I love the way the front porch looks in general.

This is the first year I’ve seen it flower!  Both female plants put out a few flowers.  The male plant (the one in the middle) produced nothing.  So I’m guessing pollination is a no-go until that happens, if ever.IMG_5414

In looking at the photos from 2009, I’m surprised at how much the flowering plum tree has grown.  The porch was always shaded for most of the day, but now it’s shaded for much more of the day, which doesn’t bode well for kiwi production, even hardy kiwi production that doesn’t need as much sun.  Oh well.  The greenery is great!IMG_5415

On my way to squash. (If my hopes aren’t squashed.)

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Needing something that takes up a lot of space in the garden, I settled on squash.  I planted my last five Oregon Sweet Meat seeds (the variety was selected and developed by Carol Deppe, my favorite gardening writer) and also started a few delicata seeds I’d saved from a few years ago. They sprouted!  I moved them to the back porch and have been covering them at night with Nancy’s Yogurt containers to keep them warm.  Fingers crossed!

Spartan Race 2016. Get ready for mud!

It’s time for another Spartan Race. (You can also read about a prior race. I think there have been others, but I was not athletic supporting, so do not have photos.)  Matt has been training for this race with a trainer named Candice.  That’s her in the photo below.  Candice is great at making varied workouts that Matt really enjoys, plus, she is incredibly strong and fit. IMG_5219

At the start of the race.  Matt and Candice ended up racing with the heat of people who had been volunteering.   Here they are answering a question posed by the announcer. (I think it was something like “As a Spartan my job is to” and he instructed them to say “a-hoo, a-hoo, a-hoo”.  This answer makes no sense, but so much about this race makes no sense to me.)  The three shirtless boys on the left were fun to watch and also served as an anchor point later on.  It’s because of them I knew I hadn’t yet missed seeing Matt at one of the viewpoints. IMG_5231

After the start (my start line photo was not very good and is not included) I sat on a picnic table and ate my lunch.  I was delighted to find myself sitting behind this white guy with a black hoodie quoting Malcolm X about capitalism and racism.  This is not typical Spartan Race fare.  Other things I like about this photo: the two people looking for their racer while the little brother entertains himself with a tablet.  Watching out for your athlete is a big part of being an athletic supporter.IMG_5234

Sandwich eaten and port-a-potty visited, I settled in to wait for my athlete.  It was a very long wait.  Matt and Candice were in one of the last heats.  After the 2:00 group went, the race people started packing up the start line.IMG_5240

After more than two hours the athletes appeared. I passed the time by reading a few sentences/scanning the racers/reading a few sentences/scanning the racers.  Also by watching other athletic supporters.  Two people near me chatted for quite some time and then the woman said, “I wonder if we missed him?” which is a common thought among athletic supporters in these races.  After more than two hours, I was having that thought myself.

But I hadn’t missed them!  Here is Candice:IMG_5244

And here is Matt.  This is one of those obstacles where long legs make things more difficult.  But he did it!  As you can see by the mud, the two of them had already completed many obstacles by the time they got to me.IMG_5249

Climbing the rope.  The super saturated color is because I accidentally had my camera set to “poster” so the colors are very bright.IMG_5258

Matt doing 30 burpees because he did not successfully complete the obstacle. Candice entertains herself while she waits.  She very quickly climbed the rope. I barely had time to take a picture.IMG_5261 IMG_5262

Matt climbing up.IMG_5263

Candice coming down.  This is one of my favorite photos.

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And so the two of them continued on their way.  I wandered around planning out my next series of photos and picking my vantage point.  On the way I caught these kids wallowing in the mud.  I was greatly amused by them.IMG_5272

At my vantage point I could see these athletic supporters.  The man was smoking a cigarette and the woman passed the time by dancing.  Their athlete turned out to be a teenager, possibly their son. IMG_5274

It was only another 45 minutes or an hour before Matt and Candice appeared again.  Here’s Matt sliding down a mud embankment.IMG_5277

Candice already made it under the wood wall.IMG_5278

Then it was up the incline and back down.IMG_5290

And under some barbed wire.  Matt crawled the entire way.  Again, not one of those obstacles where the long legs are an advantage.  I think women have an easier time with this anyway.  More power in the legs, lower center of gravity.  I saw quite a few men log roll through this.IMG_5296

Two more obstacles happened.  I did not get them on film.  But we’re nearing the end.  You can see the state of our participants by looking at the photo below.IMG_5300

The boulder carry involved picking up a big round “boulder”, walking it to the end, dropping it, doing five burpees, picking it back up and walking back.  For Matt, it also involved a shoe tying.  He swears he wasn’t tying it for the reason I retie my shoes (I need a rest).IMG_5306

Walking back with the boulder.  See his raw power!IMG_5313

Over the fire!IMG_5316

And done.IMG_5320

This photo sums up how the two participants completed the race.IMG_5321

Showing off the medals.IMG_5323

Post-race mud and curl in the middle of the forehead.IMG_5325 IMG_5326

Then it was back into the car for the drive back to Portland.